Zuan replied, "Thank you for your concern, my lord. However, although our True Demon Clan has declined, we can still protect a few women. We dare not trouble you, my lord, lest you waste your troops and fail to capture the real rebels."

"A true traitor?" The Demon Lord scoffed. "Who do you think deserves to be called a true traitor? Salami?"

“Salame is certainly included, as are those guys who attacked the treasury a few days ago. They are clearly not simple. There are many experts in the palace. They not only successfully entered but also left after they succeeded. I am too stupid to know who else in the entire underground city has such ability now.”

Zuan sneered inwardly. If he hadn't learned the truth by chance, he probably would have remained in the dark about the Demon Lord forever.

Even now, knowing that the other party doesn't know I already know, there's still something I can do.

"Oh?" Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the Demon Lord's eyes flashed with golden light, as if he had thought of something.

Zuan remained expressionless, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his plan to shift the blame had succeeded. Now, who else in the dungeon besides that mysterious historian of time had this ability?

He couldn't directly say that he had discovered the Historian of Time, so he could only hint at it. Fortunately, the Lord of Demons wasn't too stupid.

It would be best to let the two dogs fight each other.

"I already have a direction for this matter. As for those holy maidens, let them stay in the palace for the time being. I heard that one of the holy maidens has already gone missing, and I don't want something like this to happen again," the Demon Lord spoke again.

Zu An's expression changed slightly. Xie Daoyun's sudden disappearance could not escape the eyes of the other party, and there was no way to explain it.

He was about to say something more when the Demon Lord interrupted, "Salame and the others are probably asking you to help them set up a teleportation array. Once you get to the cultivation world, help her rescue the Lord of Slaughter. When we return, I will return those holy maidens to you intact. This isn't just targeting you; this is how it works for everyone leading troops on expeditions and missions, and you will be no exception."

The Demon Lord chuckled, "Of course I was worried you'd be lonely. I even left you a maid to take care of you. Pretty thoughtful, huh? Hahaha."

Zuan remained silent. His meaning was clear: he couldn't fully trust himself; such a big matter required a group of hostages.

Those holy maidens are the best hostages. Although Ji Xiaoxi is nominally a maid, I must care about her because of the conflict I had with Steward Pi before.

While Zu'an was arguing his case, Pei Mianman, who was under house arrest in various rooms deep inside the palace, suddenly opened her eyes, went to the window, and exchanged glances with her companions: "Just as Zu predicted, we're proceeding according to the previous plan!"